1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to boat trailers, and more particularly, to a boat trailer capable of serving as a portable docking facility after the boat carried by the trailer has been launched.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many popular boating areas, lack of sufficient docking facilities forces many users to moor their boats near the shoreline in several feet of water and without any convenient means for entering or leaving the boat. Consequently, the only manner in which persons may reach the boat from shore is by wading into the water and climbing aboard. Aside from the resulting inconvenience of getting one's feet wet or donning hip boots, many small children and even some adults, particularly those who may be handicapped, may be physically unable to enter or leave the boat in this manner. Furthermore, if the shore is somewhat rocky, then mooring the boat in this manner often results in damage to the bottom of the boat due to scraping thereof against the rocks.
In view of the problems mentioned above, others have previously suggested various modifications to boat trailers for allowing the same to serve as portable docks after the boat carried by the trailer has been launched into the body of water. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,855 described a boat trailer incorporating a pair of pontoons as well as a pair of hinged cover panels which may be folded down after the boat is launched to provide a floating dry dock. U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,139 discloses a combination trailer and dock wherein a bolster is pivotally coupled to the rear end of a boat trailer and is rotated to a vertical position after the boat is launched for allowing the boat to be docked alongside thereof. As the bolster rotates upwardly, a deck rises from the trailer frame to provide a platform for entering or leaving the boat. A catwalk is secured to the trailer and provides access to the elevated deck. U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,066 describes a boat trailer and dock wherein the rear end of the trailer frame is provided with a boat bow nesting recess. The recess is normally covered by a boat supporting bolster which is swung to one side of the recess after the boat is launched. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,755, issued to Hughes, discloses a boat trailer equipped with a wooden deck and including vertically adjustable anchor bars at rear corners of the trailer frame for anchoring the trailer; the anchor bars may be used in conjunction with a demountable winch to lift the rear end of the trailer above the water surface. The trailer is provided with wheel assemblies to be removed after the boat is launched in order to avoid water damage to the wheel bearings associated therewith.
While each of the above described prior art combination trailers and portable docks are preferable to the lack of any docking facilities at all, each of such prior art devices is subject to certain limitations not found within the present invention. For example, each of the prior art devices is limited with respect to the amount by which it may extend into the body of water. Clearly, such trailers may not be backed into the body of water beyond the point at which the front of the trailer is no longer accessible from shore. The length of most boat trailers typically does not greatly exceed the length of the boat which they are designed to carry, in order to minimize the bulk of the trailer. Thus, the extent to which the rear end of the trailer may be backed into the body of water is approximately equal to the length of the boat itself. However, in many popular boating areas, the depth of the body of water increases rather slowly near the shore. In such instances, the rear end of the trailer may not be positioned at a point wherein the water depth is sufficient to allow safe docking of the boat.
In addition, use of each of the prior art devices mentioned above as a portable dock may often result in the wheels thereof, and the wheel bearings associated therewith, being submerged for a lengthy period of time. Submersion of the wheel bearings for such lengthy periods of time can adversely affect the wheel bearings and the lubricants used therewith. While the device described by Hughes provides for removal of the wheel assemblies from the trailer, removal and subsequent reattachment of the wheels after the trailer has been backed into the body of water is inconvenient and may take a relatively long time to accomplish. Further, construction of each of the above mentioned prior art portable docks requires substantial modification to the structure of most boat trailers commercially available. Such substantial modifications result in a correspondingly large expense in order to incorporate such prior art portable docks within a boat trailer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combined boat trailer and portable dock apparatus which may be extended relatively far into the body of water into which the boat has been launched without significantly increasing the overall length or bulk of the boat trailer when the portable dock is not in use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a boat trailer and dock apparatus which is of simple and inexpensive construction and which may be deployed relatively quickly after the boat carried by the trailer has been launched.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a boat trailer and dock apparatus which substantially reduces the need to submerge the trailer wheel bearings within the body of water for long periods of time while avoiding the need to remove the wheels from the trailer when the portable dock is in use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a boat trailer and dock apparatus wherein the portable dock can be conveniently assembled on dry land and subsequently backed into the body of water for usage.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a boat trailer and dock apparatus wherein the rear end of the trailer may easily be raised above the surface of the water and stabilized without the need for any extra winches in addition to the front-mounted winch typically provided with most boat trailers.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a boat trailer and dock apparatus which facilitates the modification of existing boat trailers to provide the advantages of such a portable dock without undue labor or expense.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a boat trailer and dock apparatus which is designed to permit convenient access to a boat docked therewith by persons confined to wheelchairs.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.